CONTENTS

Manual Rev H1.3 (HTML version)

Introduction

The MICRO B was designed for both the purist B3 organ player or people
who just need a great organ sound. The MICRO B is real easy to use. It
requires absolutely no programming. There are front panel rotary controls
for volume, key click, and overdrive, plus controls for percussion volume
and decay. It has a built-in rotating speaker effect (front panel and foot
switch controlled) with a simulated upper and lower rotor which speeds
up and slows down just like the real thing.

The MICRO B lets you select three levels of chorus or vibrato and comes
with 36 of the most popular drawbar settings. The first 22 presets are
selectable via the front panel: all 36 can be selected through MIDI. In
addition, the MICRO B can operate in three part multi-timbral mode for
any three adjacent channels as well as MIDI OMNI ON mode. There are high
level stereo audio outputs, CH2 output may be used to drive stereo headphones.
All this makes the MICRO B very easy and intuitive to use.

Unpacking the MICRO B

Inside the MICRO B you will find the following:

MICRO B unit

AC adapter

user's manual

MIDI implementation chart

warranty card

4 - rubber feet

Please return the warranty card soon after your purchase. The information
you provide will allow Voce to keep you informed about updates and new
products.

KEY CLICK-
Rotary key click control. Turn clockwise to adjust the MICRO B's key click
(attack) volume level. Key click is an electrical noise generated in tone
wheel organs by the mechanical bounce of nine key contacts. It will be
necessary to re-strike a note on the keyboard to hear the change made to
the sound.

EFFECTS- Used
to select any of three levels of chorus, vibrato, or the rotary speaker
effect. Can also be controlled via MIDI, see the section on MIDI CONTROLLED
EFFECTS for more details.

RS FAST (Rotating
Speaker FAST) - This push-button control and associated LED allows the
setting of the rotating speaker speed. When the LED is lit, the rotating
speaker effect is set to fast rotation. When the LED is off, the speaker's
rotation is slow. The push-button toggles between the two states, and allows
a gradual speed and slow down of rotation to occur. Can also be controlled
via MIDI, see the section on MIDI CONTROLLED EFFECTS for more information.

PERCUSSION - ON/OFF
- When depressed, this push-button turns on the percussion effect. The
Percussion effect is similar to the sound produced when a xylophone is
struck. When the percussion effect is not on, the state of switches PERCUSSION
2nd/3rd, PERCUSSION VOLUME, and PERCUSSION DECAY, will not affect the sound
produced by the MICRO B. Can also be controlled via MIDI, see the section
on MIDI CONTROLLED EFFECTS for more information.

PERCUSSION - 2nd/3rd
- Toggles between two percussion waveforms for the percussion effect (2nd
or 3rd harmonic of the fundamental). This switch will affect the sound
produced by the MICRO B only if the PERCUSSION ON/OFF switch is in the
ON position. Can also be controlled via MIDI, see the section on MIDI CONTROLLED
EFFECTS for more information.

PRESET - Rotary
preset selector. Allows selection of any one of the first 22 presets as
indicated by the positions marked 1 - 22. The position marked M
selects
multi-timbral mode (see page 11). The position marked P
allows the MICRO B to accept program changes from a MIDI controller.

There are a total of 36 presets
in the MICRO B. The first 22 are selected through the PRESET selector,
the remaining 14 presets may be selected via program changes from a MIDI
controller.

Rear Panel

The MICRO B rear panel diagram is shown below. A description
of each component follows:

CH1 - Channel
1 audio output.

CH2/PHONE -
Channel 2 audio output. Can also be used to drive stereo headphones.

MIDI THRU -
5-pin DIN MIDI thru output. This MIDI output may be used to send a "carbon
copy" of the MIDI IN data to other modules.

POWER JACK
- The AC wall adapter connects to the MICRO B via this jack.

POWER SWITCH
- push on / push off switch

Set-Up

Refer to the diagram above for setting up the MICRO B.

To use your MICRO B, please follow these easy steps:

1. Connect to MIDI device

The MICRO B requires a MIDI input from a MIDI device such as a MIDI
keyboard, digital piano, or computer in order for it to be played.

2. Connect audio outputs to amplifier

The MICRO B provides two audio outputs for a stereo rotating speaker
effect. Both CH1 and CH2 outputs should be connected for stereo operation
to suitable audio system (i.e. digital piano audio inputs, stereo mixer
/ sound system line level inputs). If mono audio operation is desired,
connect the instrument amplifier (mixer etc.) to CH1.

A set of stereo headphones may be connected to the CH2 output. Depending
on the type of headphones used, it may be necessary to raise the level
of the front panel volume control.

3. MIDI THRU Output

Useful in connecting more than one MIDI module in a daisy chain configuration.
Use this output for sending a "carbon copy" of the MIDI data appearing
at the MIDI IN connector to other MIDI devices.

4. Foot Switch

A momentary foot pedal (such as a sustain pedal) may be connected to
this input to toggle the rotating speaker effect between a fast or slow
state. The front panel FAST LED indicator will toggle on or off when the
foot switch is operated.

5. AC Adapter

The MICRO B requires an external AC adapter. Make sure that you first
connect the small barrel connector on the rear panel of the MICRO B before
connecting the AC adapter to the wall outlet.

6. Select the Basic MIDI Channel

Set the basic MIDI channel on the MIDI channel selector located on the
rear panel of the MICRO B. The basic MIDI channel should be the same as
the channel that your MIDI controller uses to transmit MIDI note on/note
off and program change information to the MICRO B. Refer to the MIDI channel
selection table on page 12 for a list of all valid MIDI channel combinations.

7. Tuning

A rotary control is provided in the event that it is necessary to change
the tuning of the MICRO B. The center detent position is A440 standard
tuning. The pitch may be raised or lowered by one semitone.

Using the MICRO B

1. Built-in Demo

A built-in demonstration sequencer will demonstrate some of the various
sounds and effects the MICRO B is capable of performing. It may be activated
by holding in the fast button and simultaneously turning the preset selector
to the M position. Some
of the units controls will remain active during the demonstration. They
are VOLUME, OVERDRIVE, KEYCLICK, PERCUSSION VOLUME, and PERCUSSION DECAY.
To exit the demonstration mode, turn the preset selector to another position.

2. Playing

After hooking up the MICRO B as explained in the Set-Up section, you
will be ready to begin playing. The MICRO B was designed to be very easy
and intuitive to use. The following is a brief description of the MICRO
B's controls together with an explanation of their usage.

Volume - Before powering up the MICRO B, make sure that the volume
level is turned all the way down (volume control turned full counter clock-wise).
Power up the MICRO B, the MIDI LED should light up, then play some notes
on your keyboard and gradually turn up the volume to a comfortable listening
level.

Key Click - Some of the controls which are provided on the MICRO
B set the level of defects present in the sound of the original organs
the MICRO B simulates. KEYCLICK is the best example of this type of control.
Originally key click was thought to be a defect in tone-wheel organs. Gradually
people became accustomed to the sound as new musical styles developed around
the playing of the electric organ. Many styles of jazz organ depend on
some level of key click being used in the sound.

To adjust the key click, repeatedly strike some notes and gradually
turn the key click knob clockwise. Notice the key-click effect increases
as you turn the knob. Adjust to taste.

Overdrive - Overdrive may be used to simulate the sound of an
amplifier driven into clipping. It realistically simulates the organ sound
used by many "R & B" and rock bands.

To adjust the amount of overdrive, simply play some notes and gradually
turn the overdrive knob clock wise. Notice how the amount of overdrive
increases as you turn the knob. Adjust to taste.

Effects - The MICRO B comes with built-in chorus and vibrato
effects as well as a rotating speaker effect. You can select any of three
levels of chorus or vibrato, or the rotating speaker effect. If you select
rotating speaker (RS), the
rotation speed will be indicated by the LED next to the button labeled
FAST.
If the LED is off, the rotating speaker velocity is slow: if the LED is
lit, the rotating speaker speed is fast. You will hear the gradual acceleration
or deceleration after FAST
button is pressed. The rotating speaker effect will only be heard when
the rotary selector is in the RS
position.

Percussion - The percussion effect is enabled by pressing the
PERCUSSION
- ON/OFF push-button switch so it is left in an "in" position.
With the percussion effect on, you can select between the 2nd and 3rd harmonic,
and adjust the percussion volume and decay. Note that the percussion effect
must first be turned on in order for any of these controls to have any
effect.

The percussion effect is very useful for jazz style settings. A standard
one would be preset 1 with percussion on 3rd harmonic and the PERCUSSION
- VOLUME and PERCUSSION -
DECAY settings adjusted to taste.

Presets - The MICRO B comes with 36 drawbar presets. The first
22 presets can be accessed through the preset selector on the front panel;
to access all 36 presets you must use a MIDI controller capable of sending
least program changes 0 to 35. Set the preset selector to P
when
using your MIDI controller to send program changes.
This
tells the MICRO B that all program changes will now be set by your MIDI
controller. See the chart on the next page for a list of preset drawbar
settings.

Here is a list of all 36 MICRO B presets and their tone-wheel organ
equivalents:

Preset #

Drawbar equivalent

Preset #

Drawbar equivalent

1.

888000000

19.

888220000

2.

808808008

20.

888000000
split / (505000000 +2 oct.)
below middle C

3.

888888888

21.

888000000
split / 848000000
below middle C

4.

888473256

22.

888000008
split / 848000000
below middle C

5.

832000003

23.

848000000

6.

800800008

24.

878420000

7.

888000008

25.

888070340

8.

888800000

26.

808104000

9.

800800000

27.

887340060

10.

800000005

28.

864321110

11.

880070080

29.

800370000

12.

800000544

30.

800000008

13.

088800002

31.

888800008

14.

888800003

32.

800008678

15.

008703004

33.

505000000

16.

888000030

34.

888000000 split / 848000000 +3 oct.) below middle C

17.

828030001

35.

Farfisa Compact

18.

831000025

36.

Vox Continental

Notice that split presets are provided to make better use of single
manual operation. Split presets 21 and 22 provide a typical organ bass
setting for the left hand, while presets 20 and 34 provide a suitable sound
for left hand accompaniment. The percussion effect will only be triggered
for the right-hand part of the split.

Two "combo" organ settings (35, 36) are provided: their sound is very
different than the tone-wheel organ settings.

MIDI OMNI ON Mode

When the MICRO B is in MIDI OMNI ON mode, it will respond to all MIDI channels.
Any NOTE ON/NOTE OFF information (within the note range utilized by the
MICRO B) and program changes (if the PRESET selector is set to P)
will be recognized by the MICRO B. To enable MIDI OMNI ON mode set the
MIDI Channel selector on the rear panel to the "0" position.

Multi-timbral Mode

Multi-timbral Mode allows the MICRO B to accept MIDI information received
on three (3) adjacent channels as determined by the basic channel selected
on the rear panel MIDI channel selector. Program changes may be sent to
the MICRO B to allow different presets to play on each of the three channels.
The percussion effect will only be triggered on the basic MIDI channel.

To use Multi-timbral mode do the following:

1. Select the three adjacent channels to be enabled by first setting
the MIDI channel selector to the basic MIDI channel. The basic MIDI channel
and the next two higher channels will be enabled. If channel 15 is selected,
channels 16 and 1 will also be enabled. See the chart on the next page.

2. Set the preset selector on the front panel to M
. By doing this you are now telling the MICRO B to accept MIDI data on
the three channels selected in step 1 above.

MIDI Controlled Effects

The MICRO B allows control of several of its effects via MIDI control changes.
The following table lists the effects that can be controlled by MIDI, their
MIDI control numbers, and the associated control values:

Note the MIDI control numbers are fixed, therefore to control the effects
mentioned in the table you will need a programmable MIDI controller. The
various buttons, wheels, sliders, or pedals of your MIDI controller must
be assigned to the control number corresponding to the effect you wish
to control.

Because of the wide variety of MIDI controllers (keyboards, computers,
or sequencers) available on the market today, you will have to determine
which MIDI controller is appropriate for this particular application. For
example, you may elect to use the MOD wheel on your MIDI keyboard to control
the rotating speaker FAST/SLOW rate or you may decide to use one of the
push button controls on your MIDI controller to turn on the Percussion
effect.

Examples:

1. Controlling the rotating speaker fast/slow speed via a MOD wheel:

Program the MIDI keyboard's MOD wheel to send data on MIDI control number
68 instead of control number 1. Since the MOD wheel is a continuous controller,
it will output a control value of 0 through 127 depending on what position
it is set to. To select the rotating speaker FAST rate simply flip the
MOD wheel all the way up (on most keyboards up means away from you) or
all the way down (towards you) for the SLOW rate. The rotating speaker
will begin changing speed after the MOD wheel crosses the midway point
(when the control value switches between 63 and 64).

2. Using a push button to turn the Percussion effect on and off:

Lets say your MIDI controller has a push button control that can be
assigned any MIDI control number. Set the MIDI control number of the push
button control to 73. The MICRO B will interpret MIDI control number 73
as the Percussion ON/OFF control. Most push button MIDI controllers will
output a value of 127 when in the "on" position and a value of 0 when in
the "off" position. If your MIDI controller allows you to program the control
value, then make sure you set it to a value between 0 through 63 for "off"
and 64 through 127 for "on". Now you should be able to turn the Percussion
effect on and off by pressing the push button.